Two-year-old Surface PCs get $300 price hikes as sub-$1,000 models go away
If you’ve been waiting for Microsoft to update its Surface PC lineup—perhaps with Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X2 Elite processors—I’ve got bad news for you. Microsoft is shaking up its PC lineup, but it’s doing so by instituting big price hikes. This means you’ll be paying at least $1,500 for Surface devices that launched at $1,000 just two years ago and that Microsoft no longer offers new Surface devices under $1,000 at all.The 12-inch Surface Pro tablet that originally started at $799 and the 13-inch Surface Laptop that launched at $899 now cost $1,049 and $1,149, respectively, a $250 price increase. The higher-end Surface Laptop and 13-inch Surface Pro from 2024 both started at $999 but increased to $1,199 in 2025 when their entry-level versions with 256GB of storage were discontinued; both now start at $1,499, a $300 increase.
As originally reported by Windows Central, Microsoft is blaming “recent increases in memory and component costs” for the price hikes. Supply shortages for RAM and storage chips in particular have been wreaking havoc with consumer tech all year, delaying some launches, depleting the stock of existing products, and raising prices for small and large companies alike.
I'm rather concerned about what I do when my Surface Pro 7 dies. I inherited a Chromebook from my dad, but that's a poor substitute.
Two-year-old Surface PCs get $300 price hikes as sub-$1,000 models go away
Paying more for the same stuff" is the story of consumer technology in 2026.Andrew Cunningham (Ars Technica)
like this
SuiXi3D and deliriousdreams like this.
tal
in reply to Powderhorn • • •Well, most of what I've seen expects memory prices to be coming down in 2028. So if it's got two years of use in it, you're probably good.
If you're desperate for a laptop sooner and cheaper, you can get used laptops on eBay (well, maybe somewhere else if you're not in the US; dunno what the used PC market is like globally).
Powderhorn
in reply to tal • • •I stopped trusting eBay when a local buyer got my old, fully functional motherboard after I did an upgrade. Met him in the parking lot, mobo back in its antistatic packaging atop some foam, in the original box.
He then filed for a refund after presumably taking a screwdriver to the LGA for unknown reasons and then claimed that was the condition it was in when I sold it to him (with photos). So ... you want to destroy something you just bought? I don't see the logic here, but then again, there was someone who bought a phone from me and wanted a refund because T-Mobile has spotty service in their area. At least in this case, eBay was like "It's not on the seller to know the cell coverage in a buyer's area."
ComradeMiao
in reply to Powderhorn • • •Powderhorn
in reply to ComradeMiao • • •Brave Little Hitachi Wand
in reply to Powderhorn • • •Powderhorn
in reply to Brave Little Hitachi Wand • • •skarn
in reply to Powderhorn • • •Do you need to use Windows? Because any old Thinkpad with Linux Mint will get you through a few years, and performance-wise should be able to handle anything you're currently doing with your surface. Or hell, I can't believe I'm saying this, a Macbook Neo.
Powderhorn
in reply to skarn • • •skarn
in reply to Powderhorn • • •Indeed I was not suggesting switching the OS on that device.
But if it quits on you, old thinkpad + Linux will keep you going.
Jrockwar
in reply to Powderhorn • • •It used to be really hard to defend Apple and the pricing of their "budget" lines. But these days it seems manufacturers are trying HARD to make apple look like the sensible option.
£1099 for a 2 year old processor, 1080p, 256GB and 16GB RAM, and it doesn't even run linux but windows? How's that better than a £1099 Macbook Air that comes with a better screen, brand new processor, 512GB and the same 16GB of RAM?
At this point you're paying extra for the privilege of dealing with Windows and Copilot. 🙄